Planning ahead - the cost of your whole immigration journey and keeping track of evidence for future

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I thought I'd start this thread since there hasn't been a rousing discussion of totally cost or upcoming costs as you flow down the immigration path in a while.

A few people have mentioned their shock at the price of AOS which in the K1 case is being applied for soon after the wedding ($1070-ish - per person x however many are adjusting).

You will also see a few people in the various forums who seem shocked that they should have kept track of things they could use as evidence for ROC a couple years down the road. Either that or they're shocked that they should have started co-mingling finances and filing their taxes together....what the list of things they forgot to consider are.

My best advice after coming through the whole mess for myself and my daughter is that you need to plan ahead for costs, plan ahead for your time when you will be unemployed and for the upcoming fees at the various stages. After the AOS hump life gets much easier though!

Thoughts? Tips for the under-prepared?

[JR loves JR 196]

Some of the costs that surprised me were related to the medical. It was more expensive in country than I expected and then because his vaccines weren't completed we had to visit another Civil Surgeon in the US. And let me tell you, those vaccines weren't cheap and the transcription was a pretty penny too. I think we paid over $100 per vaccine and $100 for the visit. My biggest piece of advice on that is if the vaccines are available be sure to get them during the in country medical. I wish I would have spent a little bit more time preparing my husband on how to read the form he received so he could have insisted on getting those vaccines.

I'm also concerned that we'll get the Potential Interview Waiver Letter and end up with an RFE because the medical expired and has to be repeated. You would think that if they have the paperwork and it's their delay that caused the paperwork to expire that the applicant wouldn't be penalized but that's not the way it is. But having to redo the medical is an expense most people don't expect but that seems to becoming more common (or so it seems according to the interview waiver thread.)

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Good point - plan for the worst and hope for the best. Most Canadians breeze through the medical and our vaccine requirements are similar if not identical.

I too had to get another medical redone for my AOS and have the vaccine list transcribed once We moved here. Luckily there were many eligible Dr's here in VA who could do it...but its cash out of pocket and even if you've acquired US health insurance already - they don't cover it!

Some of the costs that surprised me were related to the medical. It was more expensive in country than I expected and then because his vaccines weren't completed we had to visit another Civil Surgeon in the US. And let me tell you, those vaccines weren't cheap and the transcription was a pretty penny too. I think we paid over $100 per vaccine and $100 for the visit. My biggest piece of advice on that is if the vaccines are available be sure to get them during the in country medical. I wish I would have spent a little bit more time preparing my husband on how to read the form he received so he could have insisted on getting those vaccines.

I'm also concerned that we'll get the Potential Interview Waiver Letter and end up with an RFE because the medical expired and has to be repeated. You would think that if they have the paperwork and it's their delay that caused the paperwork to expire that the applicant wouldn't be penalized but that's not the way it is. But having to redo the medical is an expense most people don't expect but that seems to becoming more common (or so it seems according to the interview waiver thread.)

[thatangela 134]

"Tips for the unprepared?"

Read the guides thoroughly.

Use the search function. What you can't find here, you can probably find somewhere on the DHS/USCIS site.

Then ask questions. I next-to-guarantee you aren't the first to ask your question.

I swear, the amount of hand-holding some people demand ... blah, that's just my rant because it's unbearably muggy here today. Not, like, Wisconsin muggy or anything but anything more humid than Calgary dry unnerves me.

[S & P 10]

tip that I think I got from someone who posted on this forum

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE when you arrive in the states on your K1 visa , get your name added to every utility bill, lease, car title, bank account, that you can THEN get a box and save EVERY piece of mail, statement, bill, whatever.... that has BOTH of your names on it, make sure it's a good size box, you can weed out the unnecessary later.. but when it comes time for AOS you'll have all that you need, but don't stop at AOS, KEEP this box and keep adding to it and co-mingling your lives and add the proof to the box and when ROC time comes it will be so much easier to put your evidence together.

Also agree that reading the guides and re-reading the guides and double checking the guides makes this whole process so much easier!!!

[Teddy B 17,252]

Good thread Udella&Wiz!

I don't have an exact number, but I figure with the AOS and ROC completed, we're somewhere around the 4K mark for everything in the immigration/USCIS dept. If you add in the moving expenses and other things like a new vehicle for my wife (and of course new clothes), the numbers add up fast. With citizenship coming soon, that will be another expense, but it will be the last one.

The best advice I can give anyone starting out in the immigration game is to co-mingle finances quickly, get added onto your spouses credit cards as an authorized user, (provided he/she has good credit), to build up your credit quickly and save everything you can for evidence down the road, you can never have too much.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I estimated that after all was said and done between K1+K2 all the way through to citizenship for both myself and then my daughter (she was over 18 when I applied so didn't get included under me)...it came to over $5K. I don't think I included moving expenses in that either...just all the fees x 2 along with obtaining necessary documents, medicals x 2 etc....

Awesome tip - I pretty much did this.

tip that I think I got from someone who posted on this forum

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE when you arrive in the states on your K1 visa , get your name added to every utility bill, lease, car title, bank account, that you can THEN get a box and save EVERY piece of mail, statement, bill, whatever.... that has BOTH of your names on it, make sure it's a good size box, you can weed out the unnecessary later.. but when it comes time for AOS you'll have all that you need, but don't stop at AOS, KEEP this box and keep adding to it and co-mingling your lives and add the proof to the box and when ROC time comes it will be so much easier to put your evidence together.

Also agree that reading the guides and re-reading the guides and double checking the guides makes this whole process so much easier!!!

[thatangela 134]

Another tip:

Don't swear by the timelines on this site. Someone can and may screw up at any step along the way, delaying your case approval.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Yep - no accounting for all the small differences

Another tip:

Don't swear by the timelines on this site. Someone can and may screw up at any step along the way, delaying your case approval.